Kierstin Gunsberg | Author

Hungry, Hungry (Monarch) Caterpillars: Protecting the Pollinators

April 6, 2024

Spring has sprung, and northern Michiganders are dusting off bikes, kites, and lawnmowers…but Lauri Juday wants everyone to take a moment to rethink the need for that last item.

As a butterfly conservationist, she hopes more homeowners and businesses will consider letting t... Read More >>

Beyond the Ballot

March 16, 2024

It was the spring of 1919, and president of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Carrie Chapman Catt was chomping at the bit. Even as the organization was celebrating its 50th anniversary, it still hadn’t completed its mission of equal voting rights for women. NAWSA had m... Read More >>

From Field to Fork (with a side of Sea Salt Fennel Sourdough)

Feb. 17, 2024

In "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," poet William Butler Yeats writes that the lake’s lapping waves are calling him to a simpler, nature-focused life where he’ll sow “nine bean-rows.” So, it’s fitting that Jen and Nic Welty’s own 9 Bean Rows—this one ... Read More >>

Fleeting Art, Lasting Impact

Jan. 20, 2024

“It was totally a plan,” says Susan Melton of her first time creating sidewalk art. On a sweaty day in late May of 2011, she set out to spread good vibes with a rainbow of chalk. “I planned that morning to grab a bucket of chalk and go chalk. I think I ended up parking a... Read More >>

From Schitt’s Creek to Bear Lake: A Retro-Modern Motel Transformation

Jan. 13, 2024

Marta Turnbull is something of a globetrotter, with her career in business and marketing taking her all across the map, from L.A. to Ukraine.

These days though, Turnbull can be found settled in quaint Bear Lake. The lakeside village, which shares its name with the 1,744-acre all-s... Read More >>

Living in the Present for a Brighter Future

Dec. 23, 2023

Readers, this is your reminder to close your eyes and take a deep breath. (And then one more. And maybe another.)

Between dashing through the sleet and snow and rushing off to those last-minute work parties, the weeks surrounding holiday festivities and the first notes of "Auld La... Read More >>

Crafting Wine, Cultivating Family

Dec. 9, 2023

As the summer season wound down in Suttons Bay and crowds of beachgoers headed back home by M-22, Gilchrist Farm and Winery swung open its doors to the public. With their kids by their side, founders Elizabeth and Marc Huntoon celebrated the soft opening of their brand-new tasting room in... Read More >>

Small-Batch Magic

Nov. 18, 2023

When it comes to decking the halls, Patrick and Anita Shaffer don’t just take the task seriously—they take it to heart.

“My mother was an interior decorator among other professions,” explains Patrick, recalling how Christmastime and all of the warm, glimmer... Read More >>

Meet the Mayors

Oct. 28, 2023

It’s that time again; the beaches have long been empty, heaters are back in action, and Election Day is soon approaching. This year, Traverse City residents will elect their 91st mayor (fun fact: from 1940-2000, it was the City Commission who chose TC’s mayors) after Mayor Ric... Read More >>

Volunteer Superstars

Oct. 7, 2023

Ask anyone working at a nonprofit how they take such great care of their northern Michigan community, and they’ll tell you it’s their volunteers behind the scenes bringing it all together.

While hundreds of folks pitch in for local nonprofits each year, the backbone of... Read More >>

From Frenzy to Focus: Northern Michigan’s Real Estate Update for Fall 2023

Sept. 23, 2023

High-interest rates coupled with a lack of home listings have made for an interesting year in real estate. Northern Express caught up with Carly Petrucci and Heather Robinson, two born-and-raised northern Michigan realtors, to find out if the intense grab-it-before-it’s-gone housing... Read More >>

What Teachers Want

Aug. 26, 2023

The days are shorter, bedtimes are coming earlier, and kids are shaking off the beach sand to fall back into a school year routine. As their parents and guardians pull lunch bags from the back of the closet and start to stockpile fruit snacks, teachers all over northern Michigan are welco... Read More >>

Tea with Intention

Aug. 12, 2023

Stroll too quickly past 116 E. Front Street in downtown TC and you might just miss it. There, tucked into the brick walls of the former Wooden Gallery space is Blessed Be Tea and Apothecary, a “magickal” shop that carries original tea blends mixed by Allie Robinson-Ollila.

A Day in the Life of a Beach Robot

July 8, 2023

In an era where technology is integrated into just about everything, even our beaches are getting the high-tech treatment.

The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay has recently received two cutting-edge beach cleaning robots, BeBot and PixieDrone, through the Council of the Great L... Read More >>

Understanding and Respect Among All

June 17, 2023

In a city of nearly 16,000, Traverse City’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) exists to advocate for and protect the human rights of each person who makes up that number. Common in metropolitans like Detroit and Chicago, HRCs may vary slightly in nuance, but their commonalities outweigh... Read More >>

Island Life

May 20, 2023

Where do northern Michiganders go to get away? The true Up North, that’s where! Stay cool and skip the tropics—you can create that laid-back island life feeling without leaving the state. These three Upper Peninsula islands are brimming with wildlife, eclectic eateries, and en... Read More >>

50 Years of Feeding a Community

March 25, 2023

The year was 1973. A McDonald’s hamburger was just 28 cents, the Vietnam War was heavy on the hearts of young men and their mothers, and David Bowie’s music was blowing minds across the country. It felt to many that the world was on the cusp.

On the cusp too was Americ... Read More >>

"Array" of Sunshine

Feb. 25, 2023

When the pandemic paused meetings for the newly-founded Sustainability Club at Petoskey High School (PHS), no one would have blamed the student members for letting the ideas they’d been brainstorming fizzle out.

But, taking into account the urgency of their cause, the studen... Read More >>

Crafting a Community

Jan. 28, 2023

Off the beaten path of downtown Traverse City’s beloved restaurants and charming window displays are dozens of little neighborhood gems. There’s the swingset view of West Bay’s moody shades of blue at Darrow park; the summertime food trucks churning out tamales and sushi... Read More >>

Sleigh Bells Ring: The Horses Know the Way at These NoMi Farms

Dec. 17, 2022

There’s no sound that better represents the joy of the holiday season than the gentle, sweeping rhythm of sleigh bells keeping pace with hooves crunching snow.

It’s this sound that Waneta Cook reminisces about this time of year. Growing up, wintertime was at its most m... Read More >>